#so that contributed to the quality of my art recently

[paperkoifish]

Yeahh

[late-draft]

Thoughts on Toph, Jet and Suki? For these last two the question is more about potential or what you'd like from them, more than about canon.

I'm curious about how you feel about some of my favourites. Don't feel pressured to reply and have a nice day. Love your art!

Hello! Thank you!! I'm gonna try to formulate my thoughts here, but I'll definitely have to expand on these in the future.

I think all of these three are strong, quality characters. Toph has most characterization and she and Katara share an aggressive temper, something I always thunderously cheer for; yet, they're vastly different despite that. The way I see it, Toph's situation is probably happier because the type of pain she carries is a feeling of betrayal and loneliness as she was restrained and oppressed by her parents and had no friends up until recently. She broke free. The writers said they wished there was more time to conclude Toph's struggle with her parents because it's an obvious pain point for her, for which she expressed several times a desire to fix. Fortunately for her, and unlike Katara whose pain comes additionally from traumatic loss which cannot be reversed, Toph's problems mostly can be solved relatively quickly by getting in her life what she was missing. She really is one of the best benders in the world and I was saying "Holy sh*t!" every time she fought because of the stuff she was able to pull off. She has a great dynamic with all characters from the gaang. Her animations of movement and bending are incredible - her character design, clothes and outer shape contribute to this (as shape and movement of clothes affect how animation feels a lot!)

(There's more movement in the lower part that emphasises groundedness?)

I think her discovery of metalbending has been undercut because she probably wasn't in actual danger, she was being brought to her parents who as it turns out, wanted her unharmed. If I had been writing, I would have had her be in a more dire situation which would have then made her discovery and subsequent victory all the more amazing.

She's a character who I think couldn't be stopped by any obstacle. That's literally how she's constructed as an archetype, compared to Katara who might face much more moral/emotional dilemmas or unsolvable situations rather than just challenging obstacles. But I should never say never; Toph did show a vulnerability in the form of (unfounded) guilt when Appa was taken. The narrative correctly found one of her character vulnerabilities because she's someone who theoretically "can't lose" so what happens when she lets her (only) friends down by failing? She didn't solve this guilt last time. It would most likely show up again later if similar situations happen. She's a very compassionate person who cares very deeply about people important to her. (I vaguely hearing about her dealing with guilt about her daughters in LoK, but I've only briefly watched LoK, I have no idea how that could have happened and I'm no longer sure how "canon" that show is considered to be, due to vastly different characterizations of many old characters…) Also her disability is never erased, neither does it make her helpless and her parents wrongfully use it as an excuse to restrain her. It's a part of her that isn't just a cosmetic character trait. She's perfectly capable on her own (if we ignore specific circumstances like being in the air), and I like how the show, instead of having her learn this, skips that part and advances onto Iroh helping her through anxiety and assuring her that it's also okay to accept help from friends in general, unrelated to her disability. Because she expanded this stress due to her parents' treatment onto thinking she should refuse all help in order to stay strong.

________

Suki is also one of my favourites. It's unfortunately clear that she doesn't have much characterization besides being a badass (which is spectacular, it's so cool that she's such a skilled fighter as a non-bender!) and a kind, no-bullshit person. These traits she has are very strongly repeated. Suki to me feels like someone who wouldn't suffer from social anxiety in the slightest. She could be the boldest in social situations alongside Aang, a confident extrovert. However, she feels like too stable of a character with no visible obstacles for her to overcome. I was disappointed by the Boiling Rock episode - yeah, a lot of things happened but it felt like nothing there affected the characters. Like in Toph's situation, what if it was tougher on them? The narrative did say Suki was Azula's favourite prisoner?! As much as I dislike torture, and this was a children's cartoon, imagine how strong Suki could have been to not break under worse conditions? But more importantly, I feel like she might have been really shaken from losing to Azula. How much would this harm her confidence in her skills, and how would she recover from this? Another one is how she might feel about Sokka's brief relationship with Yue, considering Suki had met him first. It would hurt her, and perhaps some feeling of guilt would arise because, how could she feel bad when Yue was no longer in the mortal realm? How would she deal with this? And maybe she could have an inverse parallel in Mai - if both of them had beef with benders, they might have different ways of overcoming this (Suki's being a healthy one). This thread would clearly be connected to the defeat to Azula, the prodigy bender. Because inversely, the narrative currently has Suki not feel anything from losing to Azula, not feel any envy towards benders in the series - that's kind of healthy for her, but boring to the audience. Plus, envy is one strong motivator to improve oneself. If not envy, then anxiety. Her and Kyoshi warriors' fight animations are also spectacular, I love the movement in the specific clothing they wear because you can't really see their legs. It's different from other characters and I heard their fighting style is inspired by aikido? The variety in combat styles is amazing! I think Suki could be additionally developed as one of the characters who puts the most focus on raw, physical prowess. So not just agility like Ty Lee, but strength and stamina too. Maybe Aang and Zuko don't have to be the only characters to push through sustaining scars from difficult wounds (if the show really doesn't want Katara to keep scars on her hands). Boiling Rock anyone? She and Sokka could match in this in the end when he hurts his leg in the final confrontation.

______

Jet is also a very strong character as he has a clearly defined role. He fulfils his purpose well. I really do have a feeling that he is sort of an inverse-Zuko: this doesn't mean I think he couldn't exist as a character on his own if Zuko didn't. But considering who ends up as part of the hero group, Jet additionally fills the role of showing something inverse of Zuko through the form he takes because he's a side-character (two birds with one stone). An Earth Kingdom character (Ally). Nonbender (masculine even without bending). No mercy for enemies. Successful and respected leader (of kids, but still) unlike Zuko who strained to get adults on the ship to respect him (loser). Jet's character design even has the more extreme version of Zuko's type of eyebrows!

This next part touches on shipping which can be skipped: ~ Most likely it's one of the integral parts he was created with. I'm not sure if I read this correctly, but I guess it's possible that Jet's character, which was made to fulfil the narrative purpose of showing a possible bad side to Allies who take things too far and kill innocents, in the visual and behavioural FORM he takes, was subsequently designed to also be someone Katara could project her forbidden interest in Zuko onto, but this time in a "justified" and "good" way, since Jet appears as a good guy freedom fighter. Then reality turns upside down at the end of the episode. (Narrative was planning to redeem Zuko since the beginning, so this was taken into consideration even while making S1. Katara gets a random FN crown in S1E13.) There is no hard evidence in the TEXT of the show for this, but to me it feels like this is what the narrative was doing. Thus there would be a high chance the narrative could force the two to clash in the future; and they do - I guess this is part of the reason why Jet physically fights Zuko. That fight grabs a bunch of threads: Zuko and Iroh are not safe/hidden even in Ba Sing Se, Jet was unable to overcome his visceral hatred for firebenders, Jet needed to be put in the brainwashing machine for some crime, the narrative needs a way to show that Zuko ISN'T integrating in the society outside of FN so it does it by having him refuse to join the freedom fighters gang, AND the two boys inevitably have to clash. I guess this might prove my suspicion, since the two had no interaction in S1 at all.

~

However, when the show implied that Jet had died, I was literally shocked. Mostly because it was Zuko who kept giving off the vibes of "dies in the end" type of character, so I was stunned to see this transferred onto Jet. (My bro was convinced Zuko was gonna die right up until the end when Katara healed him. Then we were both staring at the screen and I said "I thought you said he was gonna die?" anyway) I feel like Jet did manage to speedrun a sort of redemption arc though. The narrative COULD have pushed him more into "refuses to redeem himself" path if he had ended his run still fully obsessed with killing any firebender he comes across. That was one option. But the story decided to pivot into him managing to overcome brainwashing in order to save the heroes, this is what his arc ends on. I feel like both situations of him dying or surviving were fitting and satisfying. If Jet had survived, maybe I'd push him into an even more morally ambiguous spot, something pretty tangled in which he'd be an ally to the gaang but still antagonistic to Zuko in some way. Or some sort of indescribable negative tension existing there, with no easy or clear explanation Zuko could point to when confronted by someone from the gaang defending Jet. Then what if there was a plot by Ozai's supporters to secretly get the Earth Kingdom to attack the Fire Nation, which would then have Jet be tempted in aiding this. Secretly? Openly? Or not at all.

How cool his animations with hook swords are? They're that good that it feels like his weapons are extensions of his arms. It looks very believable and makes it seem like he's on an equal power level with benders. References used in animation definitely paid off. I'm sad his fight against Zuko didn't last longer or gotten a rematch! But I'm a simple person, I love watching energetic fights.

______

Now in terms of animation of ATLA in general, I was surprised to see that it's actually spectacular in many parts, even if it's not constantly as high as the one in LOK (whose S1 I watched first.) Before watching ATLA, I had the wrong impression that the story was childish, with continuous annoying tea jokes and the like, and thought "well the animation is worse than LOK, so why should I even bother." Then many times during my watch I had to gasp how skilled the animations were! Also, references for fights - amazing, I'll always support this. The fact that I'm now attempting to match ATLA's animation should be telling!

I'm not sure if I replied along the vectors of your interests, feel free to ask additional questions if you'd like.

[centrally-unplanned]

Saw The Boy And The Heron today lads:

The first 2/3rds of the film are probably some of the best Ghibli work I have seen. It has this strong commitment to simultaneously intense realism and purely ungrounded magical realism. In particular, its fantastical elements were grounded in physicality and their own realism, not pure whimsy. Its worldbuilding is done as much as possible on the artistic level.

The last 1/3rd does collapse into typical Ghibli-ism - essentially its a story that lacked a strong focus on plot, but then decided it couldn't commit so whipped one up. The first part is like an adult Miyazaki's Alice in Wonderland; and then it transitions to a child's version. Still fun, but disappointing.

I definitely liked the Shinya Ohira fire scene as much as the next dude but y'all sakugabros are fucking obsessed, it was not that big of a scene in the movie lol. I personally found its most standout artistic choices to be in the backgrounds & design work - as other works have 'caught up' with the animation detail that older Ghibli films, with their budget & talent, used to stand out on, those elements is where their comparative advantage now lie imo.

This is twice now Miyazaki has teased me with a grounded, fully realized period piece about the politics and society of wartime Japan and then veered off into a totally different story and I am irate, I am pissed, he is so good at depicting its intricacies just fucking commit!!

Speaking of, there are multiple references to when "the war" began and they are all pointing to 1941 - apparently 4 years of war with China doesn't count! This isn't out of step with Japanese historiographic periodization or anything, just very amusing.

There was more than one moment where I thought I was inexplicably keeping up my recent track record of stumbling onto incest media; Himi gave out vibes, man.

Overall very good, I definitely recommend it. It certainly as well has the air of one's "final movie" - its thematic arc is a distant parallel to End of Evangelion in a sense, where one is given the choice between fantasy and reality and chooses reality. Done infinitely less deftly than EoE, for sure, but for a movie that is an artist's almost certain last foray into the world of art in that way, its still impactful. Discourse about Miyazaki is one of those things where the quantity has a quality of its own - the extent to which people discuss and debate his work is proof of its power, and for his final movie to elevate the talents of so many others working for him, giving them reign on their own sections & ideas, before closing the door on his own contributions feels right.

Unless he makes another fucking movie of course and ruins it.

[askagamedev]

On the topic of generative AI, what jobs are game companies looking to replace with it first? I imagine that concept art is going to be one the easiest things to replace and I harass some games are using AI to fill out voice over work ( AI is a major sticking point between game companies and the voice actor union right now), but what other jobs are at risk of being replaced?

Honestly, right now it's actually rather difficult to replace entire jobs with generative AI. It's much more of a situation where AI would be used to augment and fill in small knowledge gaps rather than replace contributions from individual developers.

Recently, a development company called Keywords attempted to build a 2D game internally using only generative AI tools. Keywords is a well-established co-development studio that has helped out with development on many large projects like Alan Wake, CoD: MW3 (2023), Super Mario Bros Wonder, Mortal Kombat 1, Starfield, Madden, Diablo IV, Skull and Bones, Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, and so on. After six months the Keywords team [reported on their findings]:

Whilst the project team started small, it identified over 400 tools, evaluating and utilising those with the best potential. Despite this, we ultimately utilised bench resource from seven different game development studios as part of the project, as the tooling was unable to replace talent. One of the key learnings was that whilst Gen AI may simplify or accelerate certain processes, the best results and quality needed can only be achieved by experts in their field utilising Gen AI as a new, powerful tool in their creative process.

This gels with my own experience with Gen AI - it's an expanded Dunning-Kruger situation. Gen AI can create all kinds of content or results but it requires actual expertise in the field in order to separate the wheat from the chaff. Without having the skills needed to determine if something is good or not, the Gen AI results aren't (yet) good enough to use to build something.

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[matsukaah]

Since KNY recently released Valentine's Day arts, I made my own including my OC; God, it was horrible trying to find a template for the background, so I made it myself, and I'll leave it there so you can use it if you want 💚

Besides, I was kind enough to put Matsu in lolita fashion, I ruined my sanity; but in the end I'm reaping my fruits, and it's just as I imagined😮‍💨🍓

I know it's hard to find good quality stuff from kny chibis, so I'm going to contribute in my own way; I'm going to make one for Gyutaro too, but after that, I'm exhausted🏃

anyway, happy valentine's day to you my pokies!! 🥺💕

[anamelessfool]

Ok Secondo's family in my AU (the year is 2018) (thank you for your interest @can-of-pringles and @saintbowie )

Sandra was a sibling of sin and worked in the infirmary. A med school dropout who came from a family of funeral directors. She was Primo's nurse towards the end of his life. She is a surprisingly bubbly, energetic soul. Very athletic and self-conscious. But she has the intellect and drive for knowledge that matches her husband's. Also she can maneuver his temperament with the right kind of sarcasm.

I am writing a fic about their meeting. It's a tense love triangle between Secondo and Primo and Sandra in 1998. Secondo is navigating becoming Papa Elect and his mother's very recent death.

I'm enjoying writing their conversations.

Since meeting Sandra, Secondo has attempted to quit smoking 6 times. He's on his longest streak of 3 years in 2018.

Secondo retired and left the Church in 2008. He was too ill and Sandra's father had recently died. Her brothers were struggling with the family business and so the couple stepped in. They went back to school together and loved every minute of it. Secondo is a licensed funeral director and Sandra a mortician. Secondo enjoys his new role helping grieving families and organizing administrative tasks.

Secondo is the primary caregiver of the family. His mobility was destroyed by the Curse and so he suffers chronic pain and weakness in his leg and spine. He can manage working from home fairly regularly and so he handles most of the domestic tasks he's able to accomplish. He's turned out to be a very good cook and his personal goal is to create every type of pasta from scratch at least once.

Paul was 4 when the family left the Church. He doesn't remember much of it, just that his dad was too busy or ill to spend quality time with him. Paul (14) is shy but has inherited his father's musical talent. He knows several instruments, guitar being one of them. He enjoys contributing to the theater and art clubs at his school. Theater is his big interest. But Paul would never sing in front of a crowd though.

They had two other children, Eden (8) and Samuel (5). Eden is very crafty, a go-getter. A tiny, exacting dictator with a fascination with the macabre. She has been known to tell her father odd messages of magical importance. Sam is an enthusiastic follower of his sister and tries to copy her all the time. The two younger children are closer to each other than Paul. They love their older brother but it sometimes seems like Paul is a third caregiver to them.

[acquired-stardust]

Anime Spotlight #2: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001)

Happy Halloween! Acquired Stardust's second anime spotlight caps off our two-part Halloween spotlight special. Join Ash for a look back at her favorite Halloween movie to celebrate the season.

Growing up, September ushered in my favorite time of year. Summer heat began to give way to the chill of an upstate New York fall and before you knew it October was here, the gateway to the holiday season, which meant a constant rotation of Halloween movies on the living room television which my mom would have on at virtually all hours of the day. Little traditions like that have colored my early childhood and remained something I enjoy keeping up and coming up with new ones. Eventually, I was overjoyed to be able to share my own favorite Halloween movie with my mother one year when we sat down to watch this together, and I distinctly remember her enjoying it and especially taking a liking to the lovable catlike hacker Radical Edward, a very popular and enduring character actually based on series composer Yoko Kanno. But perhaps we're getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Sometimes getting the band back together isn't all it's cracked up to be. People change. Sometimes creative desires diverge. For many bands there are distinct before and afters. Cowboy Bebop, with director/creator Shinichiro Watanabe's process of thinking of his works in the context of music, was a hell of a series. Anime conquered the west in several steps, from the college campuses importing laserdiscs to Toonami and then Adult Swim, Cowboy Bebop holds a special place in that movement particularly as a bridge for the uninitiated - because it was heavily inspired by western media and of an extremely high quality people into anime often used it to bring those unfamiliar into the fold to great success. Cowboy Bebop has a pretty enduring legacy of not just being the favorite anime of many, but also being the first anime of many who were turned off by the more battle shonen stylings of Dragonball Z that had swept countless youth up into anime fandom in the early 2000s. It's inspired countless people in their own creative endeavors such as the late Monty Oum of Haloid, Dead Fantasy and RWBY fame, and Adult Swim classic The Boondocks also featured tributes. The recent Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade also features an unmistakable musical allusion to Yoko Kanno's work on the series in a chase scene backed by a several-movement jazz track.

Sometimes it's hard for a band to recapture exactly what made it so special in its heyday, but that's absolutely not the case for Knockin' on Heaven's Door, the movie released in 2001 in Japan. Much of what makes the original series work so well, such as an iconic soundtrack and impeccable script, not just returns for the movie but is in top form. A large cast of distinct characters, including several introduced in this movie, are all utilized very effectively. Iconic anime dubbing studio Animaze knocks it out of the park yet again with not only returning actors reprising some of the most iconic roles in all of English-language dubbing but also impresses with Dave Wittenberg as hacker Lee Samson and even the rare anime role from Jennifer Hale before she became quite as ubiquitous as she is now.

Animation and art direction are in top form as well, with plenty of attractive uses of lighting and the framing of shots. Small details such as the hair or clothes blowing in the wind or the falling of an ashtray aboard the spaceship Bebop manage to be almost as impressive as some of the mesmerizing fight scenes. There are also some extremely dynamic uses of the point of view even in slower exposition scenes. You've also got the soundtrack that sees series composer Yoko Kanno return with plenty of the iconic and bombastic jazz the series is known for along with some other auditory treats, and vocalist Mai Yamane also returns for two tracks that are among her best contributions to the series which really says a lot.

Set largely between Halloween and the day before culminating in a tense action sequence at a Halloween parade, Knockin' on Heaven's Door sees the bounty hunting crew of the spaceship Bebop attempt to catch a large bounty in the wake of a mysterious terrorist attack on a freeway. Each character splinters off in their own direction as is series standard, chasing down their own individual leads through their own processes which helps to illustrate not only why this crew contrasts so well in its very distinct members but also showcases a strength of the series in its oozing of characterization with action and dialogue alike.

The captivating push and pull of dialogue between characters that the series is known for is never stronger than in this film, which is a real testament to not only the talents of the late frequent Watanabe collaborator Keiko Nobumoto but the returning writer-voice director duo of Marc Handler and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, respectively, along with the incredible voice cast. There is a reason that Cowboy Bebop is widely believed to have one of if not the strongest English language dubs of any anime, and while other examples in that upper echelon come to mind for me I find it hard to disagree with anyone who finds it to indeed be the finest. Remarkable parity between the television series and movie is a common thread, and the movie even features a number of long running cameos, at least one of which pays off in a big way.

For anime fans of a certain age, Cowboy Bebop is held with an extreme reverence and often tops the list of favorites. While it may not be my personal favorite, it's pretty high up there. Regardless it's impossible to dispute the sheer quality in every single aspect of the series, and Knockin' on Heaven's Door exemplifies so many of the strengths of the series at an impressive feature-length runtime. It's also a tradition around our house to watch this every Halloween in celebration, inspired by all the movie marathons around my house growing up. The stunned silence I watched this film in for the very first time as a child will be something I never forget, and it goes without saying that it's my favorite Halloween movie pretty easily. Hopefully it will be an experience you don't forget any time soon either.

A gem hidden among the stones, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door is undoubtedly stardust.

-Ash

[the-real-rain-world-confessions]

Oooooohh, where do I even begin?

I think the one I wanna give shout-outs to the most is Jadzio/Zeraorarb, the runner of the Room Showdown blog. The effort and dedication they've put into that thing is incredibly impressive - as it was by far the longest running, and most consistent RW poll blog you can find on Tumblr. The room tournament has actually ended a few weeks ago, but it lasted about a year, and god, was it a blast to follow!

Next are creators who have given me (and many others) opportunities to voice act in their high quality works - the two most notable being Northflowo and Uranium Eater. Their videos are also just generally really good, so it was an especially huge honor to contribute to them (it also helps that they were real pleasant to talk to).

Speaking of really good videos, Opsiian has undoubtedly become my favorite RW YouTuber to follow. I never really interacted with her, but the sheer quality of her videos is insane - especially the ones dedicated to her OCs. Love the freakish art style, and the writing of the dialogue as well.

Something that's a bit on the less serious side is the Splitmind AU Askblog. It may not be for everyone, as neither its lore, nor its iterator dialogue is particularly canon-compliant, but it's still a charming little blog with a very fun premise and some neat character designs for the Slugcats.

Then there's the people I interacted with on Artfight - either through attacks or defenses. There are a few too many people to individually note each (about like, 10, I think), but they were all incredible. I loved the reactions, I loved the art, and I loved working with their OCs!

And lastly, I gotta give huge props to the people who I've got to interact with on Discord VCs - people that still stuck around with the SC community with me. Areon, Kuz, Floof, Byug, Herr Sten, Squeekles, Fay, Snovi, and a few others who I might be forgetting (apologies if you're one of them): You're all amazing people that are really fun to hang around and talk with, and I thank you so much for spending your time, on watching me fumble around in Expedition Mode. You guys (along with Jadzio) have certainly done the most to keep my sanity intact during these recent times, and I appreciate that a lot! ^-^

Oh, and the few who have rambled about Nightcat x Spearmaster with me are pretty cool as well (I believe they were Dingo, Stargazer, and Ooph, but I could be misremembering/forgetting). I'm not really much of a shipping kinda guy, but it was still a ton of fun, and I appreciated their art too :)

Apologies for making this so long, but there are many people here who I really enjoyed spending time with, or whose content I really adore. There's still a couple folks I skipped, I just felt like they were the most noteworthy ones, so yeah.

.

[idyllic-affections]

a letter from aphelion. ♡

a letter to all the people who have made my year in one way or another. there is no particular order to this post, and some of you may find that i don't have much to say, but all of you who are on this post are here because i can recall times i've enjoyed speaking to you or seeing you in my notifs or just existing within the same space as you. i hope you all have only the best year possible next year—it seems like most of us need and deserve a good year, hm? though i regard myself as quite a gentle and sentimental soul, i struggle with putting it into words. it's ironic, considering i am a writer. i mention this because even if the things i say in this post are quite silly and lighthearted, just know that i earnestly mean what i say and each and every one of you has contributed to my year in a memorable way <3 may we all have a good 2024.

       dear @lillonvia,

YOU!!!! YOU!!!!! HELLO. HI. MEETING YOU HAS BEEN SUCH AN HONOR AND SUCH A DELIGHTFUL PART OF MY YEAR!!! i love the little silly conversations we often have—i think it's probably a good thing that we share so many random fandoms. it's as if we lived somewhat similar lives growing up despite growing up in such vastly different environments <3 but anyway, i think the fandoms we share are really helpful in being able to have such fun conversations!! we have many things to talk about!!! despite the vast difference in timezones!!!! please go to sleep at normal hours!!!!!!! /lh

       dear @starryshinyskies,

HI AVERY <3 i was literally always so delighted to see you in my inbox back when you were still ⭐️ anon, and i still feel that kind of joy now! you have so many good and fun thoughts to share with me about things i've written and i love that... i hope moral injury ch. 2 will give you that same kind of brainrot again when it does finally come out!!!! if it doesn't that's okay too HAHA but i always love hearing your thoughts on... literally anything ever!! i have some fics of yours that i've been meaning to reblog btw, so maybe watch out for multiple essays in your notifications in the coming weeks LMAO

       dear @aroacenezha,

MAJI I AM SQUISHING YOU LOVINGLY IN MY HANDS or i can just look at you fondly if you don't want to be squished. i am okay with that too <3 i often think about how we met and i think it's both kind of funny and kind of nice. "baizhu would hate dottore" agreed so real so true that post was so correct in so many ways RAAHHH 🤝 the nice part of the way we met being my baizhu series. despite me having NOT updated it any time recently, has brought a lot of people into my inbox and sometimes into my life and i think it's very cool. i love when people feel seen. and furthermore please always send me your oc thoughts and your blorbo thoughts i love them so much 🙏🙏🙏

       dear @soleillunne,

ALYYY MY LOVE MY BELOVED you are so precious and treasured.... i love what you do, i think your writing is beautiful and has such a poetic quality to it. and i love when you appear in my inbox and notifs!!!! though tumblr is very mean to you and always eats your asks.... you are important to me and so many other people and i hope you always know that. genuinely. you are such a kind and wonderful person and you are always loved.

       dear @heiayen,

YOU. *GRABS YOU* *EVILLY* you. you are so. idk but YOU ARE. can't think of a good word. no words, only vibes. you are vibe-y. /lh you're another moot that has the most top tier responses to things, even non-fanfic posts. you just have Things To Say, and in the best way possible. your thoughts are so fun..... i interact with you rather often—more than some people realize, perhaps—and you are a dearly beloved presence in my life 🫶🫶

       dear @zeldadou,

though we haven't talked too much recently, i still think of you often! i love seeing your art and the way it changes and develops... and i love hearimg your thoughts about things or when you send me fun things you think i would like <33 you are a very kind person in my eyes, whether you realize it or not.

       dear @june-again,

i hope life treats you well, always. you don't deserve anything less. i think of you fondly! your kindness is and was very remarkable and treasured especially when i was first adjusting to tumblr and posting my fics and whatnot..... by the time we met, i was still very new, so i appreciated any kind interactions (i still do of course! it's just a bit different when you're new to a website like this haha)!!

       dear @kaixserzz,

I FUCK WITH YOUR THOUGHTS DUDE YOU SEEM TO COME INTO MY INBOX AT THE MOST RANDOM AND UNEXPECTED OF TIMES AND DROP THE MOST HEARTBREAKING ANGST POSSIBLE??????? HELLO?????????? ARE YOU. DOING OKAY??!???!!!! YOU WAKE UP AND CHOOSE VIOLENCE. ESPECIALLY WITH KAVEH. WTF (me too tbh 😇) /lh please always send me any platonic thoughts you have i will entertain all of them fr 💥💥💥 you have such good thoughts in that brain of yours 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

       dear @archonsbane,

i haven't spoken to you much, so forgive me if this seems or comes off as a sudden or jarring tag, but i do enjoy talking to you. fatui moot <3 you GET IT get it about the harbingers' dynamics. i hope we have more opportunities to speak sometime! (and if that sentiment isn't shared, that is totally fine. i would respect it either way 🫶)

       dear @lesanyanyas,

we only became mutuals recently, but i hope you know that i always thought of you as one of the "blorbo from my notes" kinds of people haha!!! i always saw and recognized you whenever you were in my notifications or my inbox and you always have such delightful and fun things to say <33

       dear @umgatochamadopercyval,

CLARA HIII you are such a remarkable person, you know? you've been nothing but kind and understanding, and you have such fun thoughts and ideas!! i love hearing about them sm. even if my responses are delayed, just know that you are always welcome to ramble in my dms about your ocs or your fic ideas and i will never find it to be annoying or anything. it isn't annoying. it never is.

                                                 sincerely,                                                                           aphelion.

there are people who did not make this list, and to those people, i hope we can become closer in 2024! if you aren't on here, it's truly only because i've hardly spoken to you. so... perhaps that is something we can do next year! i think of all my mutuals very fondly. i don't think of any of you as "less than" just because we haven't spoken mwah mwah <3

[prezine]

Announcing: PreZine, a fanzine for the Precure series!

Hello, tumblr!

I don't wanna waste anyone's time, so I'll cut to the chase: I'm trying to put together a Precure fanzine with community contribution. You can find a submission form here, with plenty of detail about what I'm looking for. If you want more detail, keep reading.

My name's Nick, and I'm a huge fan of the Precure series. Each season varies in quality—there are some I love almost completely, some that disappointed me immensely, and a lot somewhere in between. I've watched on my own, introduced friends and family to the show, have the soundtracks on my phone to listen to, I've bought figures and other merch while visiting Japan... I like it a lot.

I've never actually interacted much with the fandom, though. I'm awkward when it comes to joining new communities, and tend to lurk more than I actively contribute. Recently, though, I had an idea. See, I love analyzing things I like. And things I don't like. And Precure is full of both of those things. I've also been mildly interested in webzine culture and the idea of creating some of my own. The writing is fun, and I've wanted to get better at layout work, so doing a little Precure fanzine could be quite a lot of fun!

But... it's not really "interacting" with the community if I'm just writing my own thoughts and throwing them at you, telling you to read them. I'd rather get folks involved! Details can be found further down, but the gist of what I'm doing here is that I want to gather volunteers for a free fanzine I'll be publishing. It might wind up being a single issue, or keep going for some time—we'll just have to see how things go. The zine will be freely available and not behind a paywall, but I will have a ko-fi set up to take donations. Proceeds will go towards paying contributors first, before I touch any part of them. I don't expect a high volume of donations or anything, but whatever I do get I want to go towards the continued success of the project, and that means making an attempt to fairly compensate those who contribute.

To that end, any contribution—whether it be an article, piece of visual media (art, cosplay, etc.), or something else I decide would be a good fit—will provisionally be worth $50. If we get enough donations on Ko-fi to fully pay those tabs, then they will be fully paid. If we get less, then each month I'll divvy up the money based on percentages of contribution, up until (hopefully) all contributors are fully paid.

To be clear, once again: the zine will be completely free, and I have no budget for this at the moment, so any and all payment will be dependent on folks donating us money. I strongly desire to pay every contributor, but at the time being it's best to view this as a volunteer passion project with payment as a distant possibility.

Now, what are we looking for? Well, all of the information below will also be found on the linked form for submission pitches, but...

Articles

I've already written first drafts of two articles, which I've linked as samples down below. What you write doesn't have to be in the same style or vein as mine, but at least that can give you a bit of an idea of what's guaranteed to be included already. Currently, what I'm looking for specifically are:

Characters that have influenced you

Musical analysis

Original Precure fiction

If you have ideas for things not on this list, you can also pitch those within the form.

Visual Media

I have no art at the moment. As this is a zine about a property I do not own, I am absolutely going to avoid using official art. I can decorate with other images I have the rights to, but to give it that actual Precure aesthetic, having visual media submissions would help a lot.

For the time being, I'm looking for:

Drawings

Cosplay photos

As with the articles, you can also pitch stuff not on this list.

Graphic Design

This isn't on the form, but if you've got any graphic design experience... well, you can see by looking at our Twitter or the avatar for this blog that graphic design isn't my passion. I think I do okay when it comes to layouts, but covers/avatars/timeline pics... not so much. PM me, here or on Twitter, if you wanna take a crack at addressing any of our graphic design needs. You will be compensated for your time in the same way as all other contributors.

So, if you're interested in contributing, here is the submission form once again. You can also check out my two samples, found here. They will be edited, so this isn't their final form, but they are roughly what I'm contributing in terms of writing.

And lastly, our Ko-fi can be found here.

If you have any questions I haven't addressed here or in the form, ask away!

[funnymoron]

So I reread this manga of yours for the second time and read fanfictions, at the same time watching the arts with the Rayemma (Check out, my favorite pairing). And I came up with one sketch for AU (Don’t be naive thinking that I will do it when I haven't finished the AHIT AU), but then I thought, "Wait. What if someone has already done it?". I looked through various social networks and only then realized that the maximum was — bad ending trio 🤨 Well, anyway, I rolled up my sleeves and made a concept art (sketch) with Ray, in the role of "dad". What is the thing of the sketch (Inspired by fanfiction in general)? If there are mothers, then why not RECYCLE the system (it is to recycle, and not that it was originally so) and add dads? The role is slightly different from "mom", but it works according to a similar scheme, so we can say that it is like a sisters. And additional surveillance of children, more "quality meat" (as in the manga it is clear when candidates for the role of sisters are killed, adults are even better than children), the quality of kids will grow (the condition of children affects this), and so on. Only advantages, you can say. So why is it an adult Ray on the concept, if the role of dad appeared only recently, after the escape of the children from the third plantation? Well, uh... I think, unfortunately, the answer is obvious (though not completely). Here, during the attack on the Minerva’s bunker, the children from the THIRD PLANTATION were CAPTURED, but unfortunately, the unsuitable ones were not given a choice and they went straight to feed. The rest, from the golden pond and two adults (Yugo and Lucas) managed to escape.

In general, I have a lot more to tell (although I did not have time to work out every detail), but so that the post was not too long, I will say that Emma and Ray agreed, hoping for an escape or that the guys would cope on their own, but growing up they despaired and were sent to work straight to the third plantation where they grew up. Grandmother Isabella contributed to this, still giving her children advantages.

Please write in the comments if you are interested in this concept, I liked it so much that I already drew the concept. But I don't know whether to continue, that's why the audience's opinion is needed 🥺👉👈 (likes are also accepted, but I will not understand if you leave like)

[sw33t-oubliette]

tumblr doesn't have times new roman 12 font so just bear with me and pretend that's what this is written in please & thank you ^.^ apologies for sending this on anon im a coward. enjoy and i hope this doesn't come off too weird, i saw the post about someone sending 3 paragraphs of hate and thought "asshole" and then i thought "they're an asshole AND a weakling. i can beat them. im going to write a 5 paragraph essay of positivity AND cite my sources." because I bet they didn't even use MLA formatting. like the coward they are. hope the formatting is ok i tried my best

Anon A. Anonymous Anonymous 1

Professor Anonymity

Tumblr University

18 October 2024

Why That Bitchass Anon Is Wrong

Tumblr user sw33t-oubliette has many good qualities to it, and has received unfair hate towards him, as evidenced in the post "just got a three paragraph anon telling me how much they hate me" (sw33t-oubliette, Oct 2024).

Throughout its time on the social media app known as Tumblr, sw33t-oubliette has contributed to the platform with a variety of posts, including but not limited to art, analysis, jokes, and other original posts. These posts have brightened the lives of others, and have caused others to regard him as a funny, smart individual.

While sw33t-oubliette has received hatred from anonymous users, this should not be taken seriously as a judge of its character. Sw33t-oubliette has not been hateful, bigoted, or otherwise mean-spirited to other users, and as such has done nothing to warrant criticism or hatred from others. Sw33t-oubliette has made the online communities it frequents better with his positivity, creativity, and humor.

Additionally, there is data to back up the claims of sw33t-oubliette being well-liked. In a recent poll, data showed that roughly 96 percent of people who took the poll did not harbor any hatred towards sw33t-oubliette. Only one person who took the poll did, and they may well have misrepresented their answer by misclicking.

To conclude, while sw33t-oubliette has received unfair hatred, this means nothing in the grand scheme of things, as sw33t-oubliette is a well-liked being and has brightened the lives of others.

Works Cited:

sw33t-oubliette. “DIDNT LOSE IT, NO, I SET IT FREE!” Tumblr, 25 Aug. 2022, tumblr.com/sw33t-oubliette. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.

OH ????? SNILING SO WIDE OH MY GOD ?

[syndromestatic]

Something I’ve been thinking about… because of recent moominous events & also the classes I’m taking:

Queer artistry is so so special. & when a queer artist creates something, it resonates with other queer people. The art becomes inherently queer. I think it could probably be debated if all art made by a queer person is, necessarily, queer- separation of art and artist and all that- but at least I think that’s the case.

The question is: does this remain the case after the artist is gone and their art is altered? You probably see where I’m going with this. We think of these characters as inherently queer because of their long and storied history, but at the same time, we know that Moominvalley has changed these characters, too. I’m not going to definitively state that they’re made… not queer, because I don’t believe that to be fully true, but if fundamental aspects of their character and how we perceive it can be changed, can their queerness be so as well? And if the queerness is not erased, then what is it? tamped down? undermined? mishandled?

& Maybe this is the point where you go “okay static it’s not that deep” but I really do think it is! Moominvalley 2019 mishandles a lot of things, i daresay even skirts around the queerness of itself without fully leaving it out. Here is my main case: If they were going to be more explicit with Moomin and Snufkin’s queercoding, that very much should have been followed through with. & let’s speak on how much Moominvalley played around with and constantly changed the nature of Snorkmaiden and Moomin’s romantic relationship with little to no actual explanation or context? Guys I don’t know. It’s odd, it’s weird, and it certainly doesn’t sit right with me.

To me, Season 3 left off in a place where Snufkin and Moomin’s relationship was at it’s tipping point between romantic and platonic- the season literally ends with them arm and arm- And that’s why season 4 falls flat in the demonstration of their relationship. I never expected season 4 to deliver on that front in the first place- by season 2 I felt that the Moomin/Snufkin moments were heavy handed and a bit too forced to be completely natural, and I knew it wasn’t about to become explicitly canon in the first place because Moomin and Snufkin never have been- but to me it’s about follow through and writing, and the fact they were dropping such obnoxious hints only for that tension to be dropped last season feels like both a cop-out, and perhaps even intentional.

The contemporary Moomin boom occurred in 2019, in the wake of the series. Shippers went wild. absolutely nuts. If Moomin has no fans, the world is dead, but this definitely contributed to a spike in viewership. and listen. Season 1 had its flaws but if every season onwards was of the same quality, and each season included the snufmin subtext only as much as season 1, I would not be upset right now. I do, in fact, believe, that the queer fanbase of this show was teased and strung along with the Moomin/Snufkin relationship. And I think the way it was handled in season 4 was due to the fact that they wouldn’t need that part of the show to, excuse my terminology, bait viewers along because it was the last season. Obviously this is all speculation, but I really don’t think it’s all that unlikely. And I’m not even saying that it’s strictly the writers’ fault, but I think there was someone in power who let the queer shit- the shit was was just obvious enough to give young queer viewers fuel- pass by for as long as it was useful, but by no means could the show surpass a certain limit.

Ahem anyways I love Moomins and I dislike Moominvalley 2019… for many reasons but also for this… sorry for incoherencies, typos, the like.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 21/01/2024

8​-​bit Fish With Dreams

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume AI Also on: I JUST WANNA DO CATCH SOME FISHS

Ripped by l4ureleye

"This one's for you, buddy."

There's a time and place for everything, and honestly, right now really isn't the time for me to recount everything surrounding Marrow's place in the channel's history again. I've covered tributes to the ripper twice in the past, once with the heartachingly beautiful Telling Fish Tales, and later in the bittersweet cheerfulness of Turnabout Fishters. I won't repeat myself all too much here, so I suggest you read up on those posts if you're out of the loop in regards to StreetPass Fishing's place on the channel. And so, to round this topic off for the foreseeable future, we have 8​-​bit Fish With Dreams - one more tribute, yet one that seems to come from a rather personal place.

Honestly, in the recent months, in my time doing this blog, it's been a bit...strange, slowly assimilating into the more active parts of the SiIva community. I've said it a few times before, but before making this blog I was effectively nothing but a very invested observer - I kept my interest in the channel almost entirely to myself beyond leaving a couple of YouTube comments. That has left me out of the loop on occasion, primarily with in-jokes spawned from the SiIvaGunner Discord, yet I was content in knowing that I didn't really...have much of anything to contribute. And its with that preface said that I need to clarify once again that, I don't truly know much of any details regarding people's relations to one another in the SiIvaGunner team. Nowadays, with this blog and all, I've had the opportunity to finally talk with members of the team and other fans on a regular basis, and it's been a ton of fun - yet, I'll never know firsthand just how much Marrow meant to people. And honestly, its not exactly something that concerns me to begin with - it's not my feelings to hold.

Yet, the beautiful thing about music, about art in general, is that feelings that can be so hard to convey properly through words, through stories, through recollections and retellings, can be encapsulated so perfectly within a piece. And that is represented so beautifully within every single part of 8​-​bit Fish With Dreams. It's not a flashy tribute, nor some huge collaborative sendoff - but what is is, feels like a deeply personal arrangement made out of pure love. l4ureleye applies her signature flair and expertise for creating soothing, healing soundscapes in arranging 8-bit Kids with Dreams, an under-the-radar song made by fellow chiptune artist jankybit. Past the initial minute-long opening fakeout, so few parts of the original Beauford Pond remain, yet it still manages to feel...at home, with StreetPass Fishing's other music. It asks you not to be excited, nor to cry, but rather just invites you to sit by and enjoy the ride. As was the case with the original 8-bit Kids with Dreams, it feels like a gift made from one friend to another, a toast in their honor.

I really do not wish to intrude on the lives and mental states of these rippers to any degree - yet there's little I can do to avoid being emotionally affected by rips like 8​-​bit Fish With Dreams. As is the case with art as a whole, any rip made is inevitably going to feel like it has a piece of its ripper imbued into it. And its the ones where you can feel that most, the rips that feel almost like hearing one side to a conversation, waiting for an answer, that always end up sticking with me longest. Those are the rips like 8-bit Fish With Dreams, by rippers like l4ureleye.

"u cast your line at me when I needed it most, and helped pull me out from the murky depths of my anxiety and self loathing. I needed a friend like you, and I'm glad I got to have that. Hopefully I was good to you too, u more than deserve it. Rest easy gamer"

[arda-marred]

And so we come again, as so many discussions of fantasy inevitably do, to J. R. R. Tolkien. As a writer of fantasy, Tolkien hardly needs an introduction. Even before the success of the film adaptations of his work transformed him into a household name, he had won first the hearts of children with The Hobbit in 1937 and, some twenty years later, the hearts and minds of adult readers with The Lord of the Rings. But, like Coleridge and MacDonald before him, Tolkien thought deeply about his craft as a writer and creator, and it is largely by virtue of this thought that his art has achieved such timeless success. His 1939 lecture “On Fairy-Stories,” subsequently published as an essay in the 1964 book Tree and Leaf, is, as the editors of the recent authoritative edition of the essay put it, “Tolkien’s defining study of and the centre-point in his thinking about the genre [of fantasy], as well as being the theoretical basis for his fiction” (Flinger and Anderson 9). In this seminal work, he addresses all the points about the imagination raised by Coleridge and, following MacDonald, defends their application in the literary arts. We have already explored the other facets of Tolkien’s theory of fantasy as it contributes to the fantastic sublime, but I have saved his thoughts on the imagination for last, because I feel they serve as a linchpin for the fantastic sublime as a whole.

At first glance it would appear that Tolkien dispenses altogether with Coleridge’s whole tripartite scheme of primary imagination, secondary imagination, and fancy. Indeed, he takes issue with the desynonymization of imagination and fancy, though he does not single out Coleridge directly. A philologist of the highest order and sometime editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, Tolkien may be displaying false modesty when he ventures that, “[r]idiculous though it may be for one so ill-instructed to have an opinion on this critical matter, I venture to think the verbal distinction philologically inappropriate, and the analysis inaccurate” (OFS 59). Having deconstructed Coleridge’s framework, Tolkien then counters with his own, which is, by his own admission, just as arbitrary as Coleridge’s imagination/fancy divide.

The mental power of image-making is one thing, or aspect; and it should appropriately be called Imagination. . . The achievement of the expression, which gives (or seems to give) the inner consistency of reality, is indeed another thing, or aspect, needing another name: Art, the operative link between Imagination and the final result, Sub-creation. For my present purpose I require a word which shall embrace both the Sub-creative Art in itself and a quality of strangeness and wonder in the Expression. . . I propose, therefore, to arrogate to myself the powers of Humpty-Dumpty, and to use Fantasy for this purpose. (OFS 59-60)

But the advantage to this approach as both a theoretical model and a critical framework is that it separates out and clearly labels the writer’s mind (Imagination), the creative process itself (Art), and the finished product (Sub-creation). Fantasy is the end result.

Although Tolkien’s theory dispenses with Coleridge’s distinction between imagination and fancy, however, it preserves and even strengthens Coleridge’s assertions regarding the qualitative similarities between primary and secondary imagination. This isn’t immediately obvious, though the term “Sub-creation” gives us a telling hint. But to fully understand Tolkien’s debt to Coleridge, we must travel back to 1931, eight years before Tolkien delivered his lecture “On Fairy-Stories.” In that year, following a latenight conversation with his friend C. S. Lewis in which he defended the truths of Pagan myth even in a Christian world, he crystalized his thoughts into a poem called “Mythopoeia.” He quotes several lines from the poem in his lecture, and they are worth quoting here as well, for they cut to the heart of the similarity between primary and secondary imagination:

Man, Sub-creator, the refracted light through whom is splintered from a single White to many hues, and endlessly combined in living shapes that move from mind to mind. Though all the crannies of the world we filled with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build Gods and their houses out of dark and light, and sowed the seed of dragons, 'twas our right. (Mythopoeia 61-8)

The metaphor of light that Tolkien employs here and elsewhere for the imaginative process is more vivid than Coleridge’s original distinction, but it nonetheless conveys exactly the same sense. In fact, the verbs Coleridge uses to describe the process of the secondary imagination—dissolves, diffuses, dissipates—suggest he was thinking along the same metaphorical lines. But Tolkien, usually so careful to avoid overt religious reference, here actually makes the religious and spiritual implications of the imagination more explicit than Coleridge’s “infinite I AM.” While, as we saw, George MacDonald is uncomfortable with ascribing to man the power of creation, Tolkien actually revels in man’s creative power. As in Coleridge, man’s creative power differs from that of God only in degree, hence the word “sub-creator.”

Tolkien’s vision of man as sub-creator leads him to openly challenge Coleridge’s willing suspension of disbelief. Like MacDonald, he argues that a secondary world, or sub-creation, must be governed by a certain consistency if it is to hold an audience’s attention. To him, “this suspension of disbelief is a substitute for the genuine thing, a subterfuge we use when condescending to games or make-believe, or when trying (more or less willingly) to find what virtue we can in the work of an art that has for us failed” (OFS 52). The true aim of fantasy, for Tolkien, is to draw the audience into a state of “Secondary Belief” similar to the sustained participative imagination argued for by MacDonald. The real change from Coleridge, and even MacDonald, here is that it places the burden of proof, so to speak, on the artist rather than the audience. When confronted with a good work of fantasy, the audience should not have to voluntarily suspend disbelief. Rather, “the story-maker proves a successful 'subcreator'. He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is 'true': it accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside” (OFS 52). I can’t help but think that Coleridge would have admired the symmetry of this idea of primary and secondary belief with his own idea of primary and secondary imagination, and would have conceded the point to Tolkien. And it is here that the fantastic sublime comes into full flower.

Tolkien’s language here reflects many of the writings on the sublime, from Longinus all the way up to present critics like Robert Doran. There is a certain inexorable, inevitable, magnetic pull that surrounds works of the sublime like a gravitational field. The sublime grabs hold of readers and doesn’t let them go. It turns their gaze upward and pushes their minds and spirits to see and experience things they could not have otherwise imagined. And at the same time, it makes audiences see themselves from those same heights, see their own mortality and frailty, and want to climb higher, be greater, do better. But while traditional conceptions of the sublime see this process as occurring in flashes, as lightning during a tumultuous storm, Tolkien insists we can have more than that. In his view, we can actually live in a world, if only for a little while, where the sublime is made manifest, where it is as real as rain.

And like Coleridge and MacDonald before him, he insists that these sublime worlds are not merely the playgrounds of children, but the kingdoms of all readers, of any age. He is in agreement with Coleridge about the educational value of fairy-stories. While tepidly approving of fairy tales written specifically for children, he urges that “it may be better for them to read some things, especially fairy-stories, that are beyond their measure rather than short of it. Their books like their clothes should allow for growth, and their books at any rate should encourage it.” But Tolkien is adamant that fantasy or fairy stories (he uses the terms more or less interchangeably) should be read by everyone. “If fairy-story as a kind is worth reading at all it is worthy to be written for and read by adults,” he says, for “they will, of course, put more in and get more out than children can.” (OFS 58).

Tolkien delivered this lecture about two years after publishing The Hobbit, and just as he was beginning to work in earnest on The Lord of the Rings. While the former book is clearly a book for children, the latter effort “grew in the telling,” as he notes in the foreword to the second edition. Fortunately for the reading world, he practiced what he preached in “On Fairy-Stories.” But he did not build this world on sand. Tolkien scholars point to the medieval sources for Tolkien’s world, and rightly so, for these are indeed his secondary world’s bones and sinews. But its life-blood is, I would argue, the imaginative laws... that both create and sustain it. He took his own advice to heart and created a secondary world, Middle Earth, that has captivated and captured the imagination of millions of readers, drawing them into a state of secondary belief that, in some cases, lasts long past the reading of the books.

[aelaer]

Why Leonardo da Vinci is considered awesome - a Renaissance ramble

Okay so I'm gonna use the tendrils of what I remember from European and art history to expound on this guy with my recent photos from Italy - as well as Italian Renaissance art in general. Contributions and corrections very welcome.

(Since the pics are mine they're not the highest quality; Google the name and artist for any of these to find higher quality images if you'd like to see more details.)

The Renaissance is considered to have begun in the 14th century (1300s) in Italy and spread across Europe for the next 300 years from area to area. Renaissance, meaning "rebirth", was all about humanism with a huge emphasis on the growth of knowledge and the arts. While there is no set year for its start, I believe that most would agree that it largely took off after the Black Plague (mid-century) which killed about a third of the population of Europe, helping lead to the end of serfdom and an overall upheaval of societies across the continent.

In paintings up to the mid-late 14th century from Italy, you'll see very little representation of realistic art. Most of the figures appear more flat and there's no consistency in figure size and the like. It's not necessarily that artists were incapable of realistic drawing; it's rather that symbolism was significantly more important in medieval art, and everything from size to positioning had a meaning in these pieces. Realistic portrayal wasn't the goal.

Virgin and Child enthroned, with angels / Pietro Lorenzetti (c. 1340)

The early Renaissance saw a change in this style. While symbolism was still important in many paintings during the Renaissance, they started to be incorporated in a realistic manner. The gold leaf backgrounds largely became a thing of the past and painted backgrounds entered the picture. With painted backgrounds entered the need for perspective.

Artists were definitely trying early on to paint these realistic backgrounds, but perspective is a formula with very specific rules, and without knowing those rules, you can't get the perspective right. You can see that below in this early Renaissance painting. Different parts of the wall appear to be going to different vanishing points and the proportions relative to distance and the height of the viewer aren't quite there yet.

Adoration of the Child with Saints / Filippo Lippi (c. 1455)

In the above artist's case, perspective was an item known by this time - Filippo Brunelleschi, the genius behind the enormous dome in the Cathedral in Florence - rediscovered it earlier that century, and his discovery was popularized by Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti, who published them in 1435 in a book for painters.

But this all leads up to Leonardo and artists of his caliber (such as Raphael). By the end of the 15th century and going into the 16th, the really talented artists knew the mathematical reasonings behind perspective and could accurately portray one point perspective in their works.

Annunciation / Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1472 - according to Uffizi. Some attribute it as late as 1476)

Leonardo was one of the early adapters - but he wasn't the only one, not at all. So why is he so well known?

Well, he's likely so well known due to the Mona Lisa being stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and hidden for two years. That helped Leonardo's name, already well respected in the art and history world, gain fame in popular consciousness. Further references to him in the later 20th century (such as the ever-popular Ninja Turtles) only helped further.

But why is he so respected in the world of history and art?

Leonardo was one of the first called a "Renaissance Man", a term that came from the Renaissance but has come today to be known as a "a person with many talents or areas of knowledge" (per Oxford). He was not only a painter and artist, but an engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. Something I learned on my trip to Italy is that when he first went to Milan (because there was too much competition in Florence!) he presented himself to Lord Sforza as an engineer rather than an artist. You can see this all throughout his writings, along with his musings on all the above subjects PLUS anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, and paleontology (thanks Wiki).

A couple pages from the Codex Atlanticus, one collection of his writings in Milan

Leonardo was so good at engineering that his detailed notes on a planetary clock that was in Chiaravalle Abbey during his time (and since destroyed in some fashion) has been recreated from his notes alone. And yes, it works. It's been recreated at least twice from what I can find, the newest one made by Dolce&Gabbana. This painter was so good at engineering that we have a working clock from it.

(Sadly, his inventing the airlock for winemaking seems to be fiction spread to tourists - earliest dates point to 19th century for that - but he certainly had a love of wine and his own vineyard).

But what I really really wanted to cover in this post was his skill as an artist compared with his contemporaries - and I don't think anything does this quite as well as The Other Painting on the Wall.

What other painting? It turns out that the large room in the Santa Maria delle Grazie that hosts The Last Supper actually holds another mural on the opposite wall.

Ladies and gents, meet The Other Painting.

Crucifixion / Giovanni Donato da Montorfano (1495)

No one seems to know that this painting is in the same room. No one cares about it, either. In WW2, Milan was hit heavily and a third of the city was destroyed. They protected The Last Supper with a wall of sandbags to try and protect it from any bombing (and while one wall of the old monastery was indeed destroyed, it miraculously survived). Donato's painting? Wasn't even considered worth trying to protect.

And well, when you look at the two contemporary pieces together, you can see why this one has no fame. It's large and impressive, yes, but so are many paintings and frescos from that time period. There's a dime a dozen of them in Italy from the Renaissance. It's when you look at the details that you see the lack of depth.

Look at the mourner with blond hair and the purple and gold clothing, for instance. Consider the scene: Jesus, the one who they follow and believe to be their savior, is being killed in an absolutely horrific manner - and the expression on that man's face looks more like he's bummed out that his pizza burned in the oven. That's not anguish; it's mild disappointment.

You see that mild emotion in all the faces of the people around; fury is mere annoyance, grief is an inconvenience, and it certainly doesn't match the anguish even as the scene is written in the New Testament.

Now look across the room at the detail there. Even after its deterioration due to Leonardo's less than great experimentation with not-fresco materials, you can still see the clear confusion, anger, and disbelief in the apostles' faces when Jesus tells them that one of them is going to betray him.

And these two frescos were created in the same decade.

Not only do you have the intense and all-too-human emotion in this work that the painting by Donato lacks, but you also have very subtle symbolism incorporated naturally into the painting with the Apostles all grouped in three (and indeed all the threes you can see in composition), Judas leaning down to be cloaked in shadow, and Jesus (as was common with these paintings) indicating with his hands to the Eucharist (the bread and wine).

The Last Supper / Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1495-8)

Being in the same room as both of these frescos, I can say with certainty that Leonardo deserves all the praise that he gets.